


Hide-and-Seek and Horses?

by wintersoda97



Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 10:31:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9177172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintersoda97/pseuds/wintersoda97
Summary: The problem with lying to children is that the lie may need to be covered up in the strangest ways.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Woo, first fic of the year! Here's to many more to come!
> 
> Let's just widen the time frame between Kiriya redeeming himself and his death, shall we? Hope you enjoy! (^u^)b

A young boy in medical clothes tugged on the sleeve of Kiriya's doctor coat and asked, "Have you seen Dr. Hojo?"

"Hojo?" Kiriya gave a thoughtful look, "Oh, Emu! No, I haven't seen him today."

"Oh, okay...” the boy let go of his coat and slumped his shoulders. Walking away he said, “Thank you, mister."

He waved the boy off.

Once the boy turned a corner, Kiriya lifted the back of his coat, "It's all clear, Dr. Hojo."

"Thanks, Kiriya-san." Emu said as he lifted Kiriya's coat off of himself.

Kiriya was surprised that the kid didn't notice how _off_ he looked. Four legs were sticking out of his coat instead of two and he had a rather visible hump on his back.

"No problem, but I have to ask, why are you dodging your patients?"

"The children were feeling a bit down. So I thought that moving around would cheer them up, but..."

Catching onto what kind of game Emu was playing with his patients, Kiriya moved his hands in complete grandeur as he joked, "But they're savage hunters, unbounded by hospital limits as they go after their prey."

"I wouldn't say it like that." Emu looked towards the ladies' restroom, the same direction that the boy was walking to, "Well, Haru-kun may be a little too reckless..."

"Just make sure you don't lose the kids to some dangerous place, or someone. _That_ nurse is on call today," Kiriya puckered his lips and made exaggerated kiss noises to show what kind of fate the kids would have if they ran into her.

Emu let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, I will. Thanks again."

Kiriya gave Emu a pat on the shoulder, acknowledging his gratitude, before turning back towards the coroner's office.

* * *

"I'm finally done!" Kiriya stretched out his arms. His hands were sore from filling out all the paperwork. Kiriya was incredibly meticulous on how his work was done.

Fully detailed, properly organized, and easy to access were the basic requirements he set out. Sadly, the police much more lenient on how reports were filled and handed in to the office, which sometimes lead to more work for him.

Kiriya let out a sigh as he filed away the last of the manila folders. He changed into his street clothes before he left the office. The pediatric ward wasn’t too far from the entrance, so he decided to check in on Emu’s patients, to see if they got back to their beds safely.

Kiriya leaned against the door-frame, arms crossed. The dividing curtains weren’t drawn out, so he could see everything from the door. One... two... three... four beds were in the room, and each bed had its own kid: three boys and one girl.

He heard them chatter about the game that the patients had with Dr. Hojo. It seemed like the it ended in Emu’s loss.

"And then the old lady yelled at Dr. Hojo--ah!" Haru, the boy from earlier, pointed at Kiriya, "There he is! It's the horse doctor!"

Kiriya furrowed his brow, "The what now?"

The girl closest to the door eyed him carefully, "Haru, you liar! He doesn't have four legs! And there’s no bump on his back!"

"But it’s true! I saw him!"

It took a few moments before his words clicked in his head. The kid did notice him, but he thought that Emu was his having extra limbs.

Emu and Kiriya’s lie was gonna ostracize him from the group, if he let things continue as is. The best way to save his face is to add to Haru’s truth with more of his lies.

“Ah, that’s because I’m in my human form. I only use that ‘horse’ form when I’m not around other humans, but since you all know--”

“You’re not gonna hurt us are you?” A small boy from the other side of the room clutched his pillow. The other kids inched away once he planted the thought in their minds.

“What? No. I was going to ask you all to keep this from the other doctors.”

“What about Dr. Hojo?” Haru asked. All the other patients still seemed wary of Kiriya, and Haru's shoulders hung in guilt for dragging his hospital-mates in this situation. Kiriya felt that a little “support” from Emu would give him more credibility and relieve them of the fear and skepticism they have.

“Actually, he’s one of the few people that are in on my secret.”

After a brief moment of silent pondering, the boy that hadn’t said anything the entire time asked, “If you’re a horse, does that mean that we could ride you?”

Not surprised at his question, Kiriya replied, “Sure, but I have to ask Dr. Hojo if it’s okay for you all to get on board first.”

* * *

It took Kiriya a lot of shift changes and bribes with the other doctors in the hospital, as well as some practice for Emu and himself, to pull this off for the patients. Once the two felt prepared to pull the stunt off, they walked over to the patients’ room.

“I’m surprised that you’re going through with this.” Kiriya whispered to Emu hiding under his coat.

“Well, it is kinda my fault for dragging you in this situation in the first place.” He wrapped his arms around Kiriya’s waist as he slightly bent forward, “And if it makes the patients smile, then I’ll have no complaints.”

With a wide grin, Kiriya stuck his head into the room, “Hello~!”

The three patients that haven’t seen him and Emu as the horse doctor gasped, and Haru’s eyes glistened. Kiriya and Emu walked around the room to show that the horse doctor did indeed have four legs and a back made for riding.

The kid that asked to ride him was the first one to jump on. Thankfully, none of the patients noticed when Emu let out a small whine from the force that the kid’s jump had on his back.

After an hour of playing around with the kids, Kiriya told them all that playtime was over and the doctor had to get back to work.

“Be nice to Dr. Hojo, tomorrow. Okay? He’s the one that let you all have fun today.”

The patients agreed in a sing-song voice.

The horse doctor turned off the lights to their room as he wished them all goodnight. When he closed the door, Emu collapsed out of the costume.

“I don’t think I ever wanted to do that again.”

Kiriya pulled Emu back on his feet, “Same here.”

**Author's Note:**

> And when the kids come back to the hospital a few weeks later for their follow-up, they ask Dr. Hojo where the horse doctor is. 
> 
> Emu and I die a little inside :’)
> 
> Anyhoo, this was originally a drabble of just the first part, but then the images of Emu and Kiriya walking around like lion dancers in his doctor's coat and giving the patients a ride seemed cute.


End file.
